Sideshow
by Winged Dancer
Summary: [AU-esque] Inside a traveling Fair; from all reigns of earth, exotic creatures for you to see. A Unicorn, Cerberus - or perhaps you'd be interested in the Chimera? A man with rock skin who was trapped in his sleep, now behind bars... [Zel-Centric Drama.]
1. Introduction and Capture

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**Disclaimer:**"The Slayers" is not of my belonging, unlucky me. I'm not making any profit either - unlucky me! - so this doesn't fit in the 'illegal' category.

  


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**Sideshow**

_ --- A Slayers Fanfiction by Winged Dancer._   
  


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1. Introduction and Capture.

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To be transformed had never been a good thing. He had always hated it, from the moment it started, with all of his soul. 

But, there had always been persons around him supporting him. Zolf and Rodimus, above everyone, had been loyal to him, and had helped keep his morale up. It had been silly of him to think they would always stay with him, though - they had both died while helping defend the keep they used as a home. 

At that moment, he had felt lonely. It was not that he wasn't used to being lonely; since he rather enjoyed solitude and would look for it often. But, to know that there's no one left in this world in whom you can rely on times of need, no one to be close to you or to talk to while being simply yourself, hiding nothing - that was true loneliness. And he disliked it. 

Zelgadiss Graywords was a monster, 'bred' by his own grandfather; a powerful magician that had gone mad in the search of a cure for his blindness. 

His skin was literally made of rock, abrasive rock that would hurt most skins. To caress someone was out of the question - it was enough to leave a red trail behind his fingers, one punch had been enough to kill a man once. To make it better, his grandfather had somehow managed to put a demon inside of him as well, or so he thought; since his magic ability had increased dramatically, and his pupils had become two thin slits that looked, in one word, evil. 

He had once been human, but now, so little of the old him remained, he was starting to doubt he had ever been human at all. 

The bars that kept him prisoner didn't help, either. 

How had that happened…? How did he end up captive; him, a powerful sorcerer, a cunning strategist? 

He had been searching, as always, for a way to undo the spell put on him by his grandfather. For five months after the deaths of his friends, he didn't leave the keep, using only the books he had gathered. But, as he had been fearing, the books ran out of information, and he was forced to leave. 

And one day, he had woken up in a cage. 

He couldn't explain what had happened - he wasn't an easy prey to get, and yet he had been captured. 

The best he could think was that he had been tracked (He could remember hearing footsteps behind him maybe about a week before he had been captured, but hadn't paid attention to them), and once he had fallen asleep, a spell of some kind had been used to prevent him of waking up, and he had been carried to the wagon. 

The man responsible for his capture was not a dumb one. He looked to be extremely stupid - fat, bald, greasy, with a goofy grin always plastered in his face. But, he was extremely clever; and used his appearance to his advantage, tricking whomever was dumb enough to fall to his tricks. 

Zelgadiss had been trapped for almost two years now. 

He would've escaped a long time ago, if it wasn't because the fat man had taken so many precautions: The cage he was in was built with magic-proof enhance orihalcon, and thanks to the new technology, the metal would send an electric shock to whomever touched the bars. 

He hated the bars. He hated the food. He hated the 'Master', along with his greasy smirk that always said 'You are mine, and you can't escape'. 

But, above everything, Zelgadiss hated that he was being used as some sort of show freak; an animal the greasy dolt used to gain money. 

Whenever they were close to a town, the many wagons would stop, and many more cages would be put on display. The next days, all of the villagers came to visit; to watch the fascinating creatures trapped behind the bars. 

A young, handsome boy would stand at the top of a wooden box, explaining everything to whomever passed by. 

"Come see the wonders and mistakes of nature!! Beauty and horror together, my friends, for only three silver pieces!!" The boy cried, waving his hands elegantly. "The most beautiful unicorn, the terrible manticore!! The hydra, the Cyclops, wonders from far-away lands!! A siren, animals from Hell itself, all behind bars - the most monstrous things of creation, just for you to see!!" 

Zelgadiss knew perfectly well he was in that last category. 

He knew because he saw how people reacted when passing next to his cage - gaping, gasping, turning around in fright, scrunching their noses in disgust. Women were terrified, men, amused. 

He was treated as if there was no soul inside of his stone hide… as if he had no feelings at all, as if he couldn't think nor speak, as if he was just a rock. 

After the capture, he had first been enraged; and how could he not? Wearing nothing but a dirty and ragged loincloth that covered only his noble parts, all of his much-hated body was left for everyone to see; he received little food whose taste was worse than wild roots and he had little children gaping at him while asking their mothers if 'the thing' could bite. 

It was, no doubt, the worst that had could have happened to his pride. 

After the rage, however, came the depression. What was the use of being angry, if all he got was even less food, worse treatment and more mocking laughs? During this second stage, he would only lie in his cage, as further away from the public as he could (And that wasn't much, given the dimensions of his cage), ignoring the comments or the measly rations, ignoring the customers yelling at him to move or throwing random curse words. He was slowly killing himself, not wanting to live the daily humiliation any longer. 

It was not 'till during the 8th month of capture that he decided to leave the depression behind him… during a particular rainy night, he realized that he was starting to hate everything: The cage, the bars, the rain, the night, the day, himself, men, women, children, green grass, rotten grass, dyed fruits he sometimes got for breakfast, water, his curse, his grandfather, the greasy man that acted as Master, everything. 

And, he realized that even though he hated all those things, there was no point in killing himself: His grandfather was dead, and therefore he couldn't take revenge on him, but the greasy man was alive; and therefore, he could kill _him_ instead. He could have his revenge after all. 

So, Zelgadiss started eating again. During the day, he would no longer sit and mope - he would move, pace around the cage, still ignoring the customers, but always planning his escape. His revenge. They would all come one day. And that day, he'd be happy.   
  
  


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**Notes:** Inspired at and by the Cirque Du Soleil - Alegria, for some unknown reason. Other things that inspired this: 

'_The Last Unicorn_' (Peter S. Beagle) - I wasn't thinking of it while writing, but the influence is clearly there. 

'_Idylls_', by Ryo Hoshi - Another Slayers fic where Zel suffers of things like this, but it's also quite different from this. Go read it. 

'_The Catcher in the Rye_' (J.D. Salinger) - Don't ask. 

This is half-an-AU fic; set in the Thirties or so in America - you have the Great Depression and magic at the same time, but magic is only used by select families with lots of background. I don't know how historically-accurate this is, but that's not my intention either. 

There's no romance here - Xellos and Filia are engaged, but there's no mush at all. For _any_ other couple; don't expect much. 

Next chapter to be posted next week, on Tuesday as well. 

_ Clients start to arrive at the Fair just as the day becomes warm under the sun... another day just as the others for the Chimera, and surely those three special visits wont make a change..._   
  
  



	2. Friday Visit

  
  


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**Sideshow**

_ --- A Slayers Fanfiction by Winged Dancer._   
  


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2. Friday Visit.

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"Really, Xelloss, your idea of a date is... disgusting." A young woman with golden hair falling down her back stated, frowning. "If you were searching for a cheap entertainment, you could've taken me to the park again!! Or to the movies. They are not that expensive, you know." 

"But Filia, deary, honey, sweetie, peach-pie, little darling…" 

"Stop using those dumb pet names!!" The blonde snapped, getting irritated, but making the purple haired youngster smile even more than he was already. 

"Please, Filia, are you telling me you don't like the idea of visiting a freak show? What's so bad about it?" 

"In God's name, Xelloss, how can you find the thought of watching those poor captive animals amusing?" Filia asked, brushing her hair back with a hand. 

"Well, if those animals were stupid enough to be caught…" 

"Xelloss, watch your vocabulary!!" The blonde hissed. 

"…then they deserve to be shown in these shows." The man continued, wrapping his arm around the woman's waist. "Come, Filia - I'll take you to the park later if that's what you want, but we already told Amelia we'd see her here." 

The blonde sighed. "Alright then. But promise me you'll watch your vocabulary? And you'll behave, too?" She asked, looking up to meet his eyes. 

"Mmmh…" The man next to her thought, "Alright - but only if you promise you'll let me use whatever words I want when we are alone…." As he said that, he gave her bottom a playful squeeze. 

"Xelloss, behave yourself!! We are in public!!" Filia couldn't help but giggle as she slapped Xelloss' hand away. 

"Doesn't that make it even more exiting?" The young man replied, trying to hug her. 

"Miss Filia!! There you are!!" A new voice interrupted. 

"Oh, Amelia!!" Filia set herself free and ran to greet the second girl. Amelia was wearing a long white skirt that covered down to mid-calf, along with a light blue blouse and a white hat. Filia's outfit had been picked by Xelloss; her fiancé, and therefore, was a little more 'risqué': a dark blue skirt just above her knees along with a white blouse. Her legs were earning many looks of surprise and want, something that bothered the blonde but made Xelloss quite happy. 

"Well, it seems we are set now." The purple headed boy commented after greeting the black haired girl. "Should we go in?" 

"I'm not sure of this, Mr. Xelloss…" Amelia commented as they walked towards the entrance, marked by a wide poster that simply read _'Messon's Fair of Creatures'_. "Don't you think some of the animals there could be… dangerous?" 

"Why, of course, Miss Amelia!!" The man answered, smiling happily. "But, they are all caged; and," He added, lowering his voice. "We have our magic, in case we needed to defend ourselves." 

Amelia nodded. Sure, they had their magic, and Xelloss was most probably the strongest user she had ever met (His family, the Metalliums, was owner of incredible secrets that were never told to others), but Filia only had one attack spell, and she was, she had to admit, not the best sorcerer out there; her specialty being curative spells. 

"Come in, my friends!!" A rather handsome boy called to them as they neared the entrance. "For only three silver pieces, all the wonders of creation are for you to see!! What do you say, my fair ladies? I promise, there are some pretty things in there - you'll be bewitched by the unicorn and enchanted by the pixie; the siren will fascinate you with her song!!" The two women opened her eyes at that. "Oh, but be wary - some creatures are not as friendly. Cerberus' heads bark at strangers, the harpy is always trying to scratch people, and some moody chimeras need to watch their manners… what do you say, my friends? Three silver pieces - and you'll watch marvels and abominations!!" 

"Nine silver pieces it is." Xelloss deposited the coins on the man's hand. "And it'd better be worth it, my friend." 

"It'll be, sir. Please step in - and be careful of those hidden in the shadows." 

Giggling with excitement, the two women quickly stepped inside, looking around, not sure of where to go. As their nature dictated, they searched for the unicorn first, and quickly found it: The beautiful white mare's hide was pure as snow, shimmering in the light, the horn shining as a pearl. 

As the two ladies swooned over the horned horse, Xelloss walked around on his own, smirking as always. 

For three silvers per person, he had to admit it was a nice job; and whomever was the boss had to be pretty skilled with mind-control spells to be able to fool both Filia and Amelia. Of course, it helped that the two of them _wanted_ to see what the boy advertised. 

"Women." The young man snickered. "Say you have a unicorn and they'll be willing to pay whatever you ask." 

For him, however, it was very easy to see past the spell - the unicorn was only a white mare, 'Phobos, the winged Terror' was only a grown crow, the pixie was a colorful butterfly, Cerberus was a big, one-headed dog that would surely be able to kill someone with one bite, the siren was a poor girl with false wings sown to her back. 

"Why, the man behind this has read Homer, it seems!!" He said to himself as he stopped in front of the fake siren's cage. The girl smiled at him and walked up to him, all of her chest exposed, her dirty yellow hair falling down her back. Reaching out a hand, she started to hum a sad song. 

"Ah, my lady…" Xelloss smirked in a rather malevolent way. "Tell me, what is it that attracts people to you? Your song, I was told. But maybe those fake wings hanging from your back are the only thing worth… or maybe your body, my dear?" Snickering at the girl's confused and sad eyes, he continued. "You would've attracted my eyes, had we met in a city, had you been wearing some clothes. But like this - you are worth close to nothing." 

Turning around, he continued his visit. While some things were fakes, there were some others that were true. The 'Giant Spider', for instant, was indeed a giant spider, most probably brought from a far-away country from the South. Or the hissing cockroach, that one was true, for instance. The harpy was not fake either - the bird sat at it's perch, looming and watching, hissing at whomever got too close. The Cyclops was, surprisingly enough, true as well - a robust man with only one eye. He was not a monster, but a cripple. 

Something caught his eye, at the very end of the 'Fair'; a cage that was just a little apart from the others. He walked up to it, looking inside… a man that looked about his age, but had his entire body covered by blue stone. He could sense no spell emanating from his body, but, who could've been powerful enough to make such a creature? 

Leaning slightly, Xelloss read the placard at the bottom of the cage: 

_Chimera _

A breed of different species. (Components unknown) 

A 'Chimera' is also a lie. However, your eyes are not mistaken - this 'man' is a living rock! 

Xelloss couldn't help but snicker at the description. 

"Very well, my 'living rock' friend…" He started, looking at the creature inside the cage. "Tell me - why are you here? You don't seem easy to catch." 

Inside, the creature only growled, turning around. 

"Ah, so you don't want to be disturbed…" The purple haired boy continued. "A shame indeed. Here I thought that maybe you'd talk - you look much more interesting that that silly siren, too." 

"Xelloss? With whom are you speaking?" A feminine voice called from behind.,. 

"Ah, Filia, Amelia!! Perhaps you'll like to meet Mr. Living-stone?" The man cried, moving so the women could see the thing inside. The 'thing' turned around again, but ignored the two newcomers. 

"Livingstone?" Filia asked, peeking at the creature. 

"Or Living Rock, take your pick." 

"Mr. Xelloss!! That's not a nice thing to call people!!" Amelia scolded. 

"But he wont tell me his name, Miss Amelia!! How am I supposed to call him then?" 

"Xelloss, don't mock the poor thing." Filia continued with the scolding, earning a dirty look from the man inside - needless to say, he didn't like to be called a 'thing'. "It's bad enough for it to be kept like that, and you come to make fun of it!!" 

"Aah - I see you youngsters are interested in the chimera." A new voice said behind the trio. They turned to see a amiable-looking man wearing a white shirt with spent brown vest and pants looking at them. "Interesting, isn't he? Yes, my friends. He's a male - haven't got the female, or else I would have many little chimeras around here." The fat man joked, laughing. "The name's Messon; James Messon, owner of this fair. I'm pleased to meet you." 

"The pleasure is mine." The three young adults replied at the same time while Xelloss shook hands with the man. 

"I hope you've enjoyed what you've seen so far - ain't my creatures beautiful? Even the most horrible ones have a piece of beauty inside, at least I seem to think of it that way. It's… the mystery surrounding them." Mr. Messon continued, looking around at the cages. "How were these creatures created? Who created them, too, and with what purpose? It wasn't easy, to get them all… but every one is worth it." 

"Yes, indeed." Xelloss commented, observing the chimera again, with a hand under his chin. "And, tell me, how did you manage to catch the unicorn? I've been told that only pure virgin maidens can get near them. Oh, that would leave you out of the picture, Filia…" 

"Xellos!!" 

"Bwa-hahahaha!!" The man laughed heartily at the blushing blonde. "Yes, only sweet young maidens can get close those fine horses - and it was my young daughter the one that helped me with it; she lured the unicorn in the open and I captured it." 

"Oh…" Amelia sighed. "That's a cruel thing to do. Poor thing!! I heard once that unicorns die in captivity… shouldn't you let it go, Mr. Messon?" 

"Don't fear for it, my lady." The bald man calmed the girl, smiling. "She has lived for years with me now - I reckon she even likes the place now." 

"Of course she likes it." Xelloss butted in. "I've yet to know a simple mare that doesn't get used to a cage." 

"A simple mare!!" Mr. Messon exclaimed. "A simple mare, the lad says!! It's almost insulting the pretty, calling her that way!!" 

"Ah, but I'm only stating the truth." The young man answered, smiling mysteriously, and earning curious glances from Amelia and Filia. "Don't you agree, my Chimera friend? That pretty mare has a nice spell on her, but spell or no spell, all horses get used to the stable." 

"…a spell?" Filia gaped, looking at her fiancé. "What do you mean, Xelloss?" 

"My Filia - look at the mare yourself, but look at it carefully. I'm sure you'll see what I see as well. Try looking at the 'Siren' as well, and the Cyclops and the Pixie and Cerberus. Many caged lies." 

The blonde woman turned around and almost ran towards the white mare's cage. Amelia, after throwing one questioning glance at Xelloss, followed suit. 

Having lost his amiable face, the man threw a dirty look at the purple haired youngster, ignoring the grin that was forming on the chimera's face. 

"I don't know how you've seen through my spell, but I admit defeat when it hits me in the face." The bald man stated curtly. "I'm willing to give your money back if you promise not to spread what you've seen today." 

Xelloss smirked at this. "Not at all, my friend - I paid nine silver pieces to have some fun, not to see magical creatures. Discovering your lies was fun, I wasn't thinking of asking for my money." 

"Ah. You are a strange one, boy." Turning to the Chimera's cage, the man continued: "What do you say about this one? Mighty hard to catch, and harder to keep caged. But worth every penny - there are few people not interested in seeing a man with stone instead of skin." Taking a rather large wooden pole, the man poked the creature inside the cage. "Come on, my friend - you haven't introduced yourself to the guests." 

"Leave me alone, you bastard." The chimera snapped, pushing the stick away. 

"My, strong words!!" Xelloss exclaimed, happy. "I had been waiting for you to talk. What took you?" 

"I don't have to answer to the likes of you." The blue man answered, as moody as anyone could be. 

"Xelloss!!" The two women came back. "You - you are right!! The siren is just a girl… and the Cyclops!! The Pixie and Cerberus are not that bad, but…" 

"How could you do that to them?¡" Amelia cried, clenching her fists. "They are human, just like you!! And yet you - you have them in cages, as if they were animals!!!" 

The man however, ignored the black haired girl. "You should watch your vocabulary, Chimera, there are women nearby. Ah, I know you hate me… I know you love to see me humiliated like this, my trick discovered. But even now, I'm still the master." Chuckling, the fat man asked: "Tell me - what do you wish to do?" 

"You dare to ask…" The Chimera started, almost hissing in anger, "You dare to ask me what do I want to do with you?¡ To kill you, you bastard!! I don't care anymore to make you suffer as I have, I only want to see your blood covering my hands!" 

"My… God." Filia exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. 

"…revenge, sweet revenge, mh?" Xelloss muttered, smiling darkly. 

"It… he can talk!!" Amelia cried, making the Chimera look at her with fury. 

"Yes, miss, I can talk." He cried, his tone being rather insulting. "And don't you ever call me 'It' again, if you want to live." 

"I'm - I'm sorry, I just didn't - " 

"You just didn't what? Didn't think that the 'creature' was intelligent enough to speak? Who's the stupid one, I wonder?" 

"Hahahaha, easy there, Chimera!!" Mr. Messon laughed, poking the man's rib with the pole again. "Don't you fret, miss!! Behind those bars, he's as good as nothing!! Look at him - he just likes to scare people to feel important and powerful!!" As he said that, repeatedly poking at the enraged chimera with the stick, the man's eyes were losing their cheerful twinkle and were gaining a hateful spark. "Look at him!! No better than an animal. Even a limp dog would make a better pet. I was no surprised to see him wandering - whomever created him was surely smart to dump such a piece of garbage." 

"How dare you…" The Chimera hissed, launching himself at the bars, making the two women step backwards. "I'll kill you!!" He screamed, even though the bars were already giving him electric shocks. "I'll kill you some day, and you know it - !! I'll get out of here and the first thing I'll do will be killing you!!" The shocks were too strong at that point, and the man was sent flying to the other side of the cage, screaming in a mix of pain an rage. 

"Let's go." Xelloss took the girls by the shoulders, guiding them out of the fair. 

"That was… impressing." Filia said, exhaling. "I can't believe all those creatures were fake." 

"And I can't believe it took you two so much time to realize that." Xelloss shrugged, smiling again. "You two are magic users like me - you shouldn't have had any problem seeing through that spell." 

"I guess that's because we _wanted_ to see those things." The blonde sighed. "I was so excited I had seen an unicorn!! What a shame it was a fake…" 

"I… I want to set them free." The raven haired girl stated. 

"Eh? What do you mean, Amelia?" The other girl asked. 

"I want to release them all! The animals, and specially the humans don't deserve to be treated that way!! You saw how the chimera reacted - they must receive horrible treatment!! And, above everything, they are humans beings, and they have the right to be free!! I can't stand watching something like that." 

"But what are you proposing, Amelia? We couldn't possibly sue the man, since we can't prove that he placed an spell over the animals…" Filia started. "And, that Chimera looked dangerous… it might be better for it to be caged like that." 

"No, it's not better." Amelia frowned. "I'll think of something - but I can't allow these things to happen." 

"But we can't do a thing about that!!" 

"Now, now, Filia… I'm sure there are plenty of ways to liberate those creatures." Xelloss interceded, as if thinking. 

"What? Xelloss, what do you mean…?" 

"Would you really help me, Mr. Xelloss?" An excited Amelia asked. 

"Why, of course… it's not nice to have those things caged like that, isn't it?" 

"Mr. Xelloss!! They are not 'things'!!" 

"Right, right - humans, I'm sorry." Xelloss shrugged, not being really sorry. "It's just that - imagine all the chaos that'll be formed if all the creatures come out? Everybody would be scared, screaming, panicking!!" The young man started to laugh at the idea. 

"…you are being weird again, Xelloss." Filia scrunched her nose. Her fiancé could, at times, be extremely… freaky. 

"Sorry, sorry." The purple haired man stopped, cleaning away a small tear of laughter. "Now, what do you say we go to the park? I'm sure we're bound to find Lina and Gourry there, and perhaps they'll like to hear about this story?"   
  
  


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**Notes:** Ironic, how a piece that I believe achieves more than others I've written seemingly passes unnoticed, while others that I personally don't think so high of are better liked. 

I want to thank my sole reviewer, Ameria - thanks for your comments, and don't trust my taste so much ˆˆ It can be gaudy and simple at times. 

Lastly, if you are reading this and thinking 'Feh, there aren't many cuss words', remember this is set in the thirties or so, so any little insult is big enough to cause a few shut-ups. 

_WDR_   
  
  


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	3. Rendezvous, Night and Saturday Planning

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**Disclaimer:** Over the last week, I wasn't able to aquire the rights to "The Slayers", so it is _still_ not mine, nor I'm claiming it to be.

  


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**Sideshow**

_ --- A Slayers Fanfiction by Winged Dancer._   
  


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3. Rendezvous, Night and Saturday Planning.

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"What a nice day, today!!" 

"Indeed!! The sun shines, the sky is so blue and I've got some ice cream. Nothing could be better. Well, maybe a few sandwiches, you know - a whole picnic!!" 

"That'd be great!! If we had known the weather would be so nice today, we could have even brought a lemonade jar and a cake." 

"That's a nice idea, coming from you Gourry." 

A tall man, of perhaps four-and-twenty years, smiled. "Heh. Thanks, Lina." 

"It's nothing, it's nothing. Lets go find some shadow now; we don't want our ice creams to melt under the sun." 

"But didn't Xelloss and the others said they'd meet us at the entrance?" Gourry asked, as his companion started walking. 

"Yeah, yeah. But you know Xelloss - he'll talk Filia into going to the lake or something like that and leave Amelia on her own, and she'll find us by herself." 

"You think?" 

The pair found a nice shadow under a leave-filled tree, and Lina sat down with care, straightening her one-piece red dress and making sure most of her legs were covered. 

"Yes, Gourry. Amelia is not dumb, you know - she'll figure that, being us, we went to get something to eat and will search near the food vendors, therefore finding us easily enough." 

The blonde man sniggered. "Your brains sure make up for your lack of breasts, Lina." 

"Why you…" Moral problem: Lina was a lady. Maybe not a very wealthy one, and maybe her family didn't had the 'breeding' the Seyrunns or the Ul Copts did, but she was a lady nonetheless. Therefore, she shouldn't insult nor punch a man; as that was utterly un-ladylike. 

Gourry, however, soon was rubbing his arm, hoping he wouldn't get a bruise out of Lina's punch. 

"Hey, I thought your sister had told you not to hit me anymore!!" 

"Well, you deserved it!! True gentlemen wouldn't say something like that to a lady like me." 

"But… you are no lady, Lina." 

If something could unnerve Lina, that was Gourry's oh-so-honest comments. He wasn't trying to poke at her - he was just stating an opinion. 

"Gourry… just shut up." 

"Why?" 

"Just do it or I'll be forced to kick you." 

"Alright!! Alright, I'll shut up now!!" 

"Good boy." 

Their concentration went back to their respective ice creams, that were starting to melt by then; but being fast eaters, that wasn't much of a problem. 

"Told you, Gourry. Look who's coming now." 

"Miss Lina!! Mr. Gourry!!" A black-haired girl with a long white skirt called. 

"Hey, Amelia!!" Gourry waved at her. "How'd you found us?" 

The girl smiled. "Well, I figured that since the sun is so strong today, you'd try and get an ice cream, so I decided to search for you here." 

Lina snickered. "Told you." 

"And Filia and Xelloss?" Gourry continued. 

"At the lake. Mr. Xelloss convinced Mr. Filia to go rowing - I just hope he wont throw her overboard this time…" 

"Told you again!" The red-headed laughed out loud. 

"Right, right…" Gourry mumbled. "Hey, Amelia - would you mind casting a healing spell on my arm? Lina hit me again…" 

"What?¡ Miss Lina, that is terribly improper and un-ladylike!!" 

"Well, what he told me wasn't terribly gentlemanlike either!!" 

Amelia sighed, starting to cast the Recovery spell on Gourry's arm. "Really, I sometimes can't understand the two of you." 

"Whatever," Lina grumbled. "Where were you all? I hope you didn't go to the movies with those two. My last movies experience with that pair was definitely not a good one. Xelloss can be so… so…!! Well, so _himself_ sometimes!!" 

Her friend laughed. "I completely agree. But no, we didn't go to the movies…" The girl's smile disappeared. "We went to that fair we saw announced at the town. There, Mr. Gourry - it shouldn't hurt anymore." 

"I don't think it hurt to begin with, Amelia. And what were you doing at that fair? It's not something I can imagine you being at!!" 

"Yeah. I mean, you are more of a uh… well, I don't know, culturized person." Gourry tried, happy to see his arm wasn't sore anymore. 

"Er... wrong, non-existant word, Gourry, but I think I understand what he means." 

"Well, Mr. Xelloss convinced me to go… it wasn't that bad, at first. Some creatures were so pretty!! Like the unicorn, Miss Lina!!" 

"A unicorn?" Lina's eyes lit up. "To have something like that - it must be as valuable as h… as a gold mine. And beautiful, too." 

"Watch your language, Miss Lina." Amelia scolded, playfully. "It was very pretty, but, it turned out it was a complete fake!!" 

"What?¡ A.. fake? How can that be possible!!" 

"Maybe they used some glue and pasted a horn to the horse's forehead?" 

"Er, not exactly glue, Mr. Gourry. But the owner, some Mr. Messon, used magic to cheat people into believing all the creatures were real!! Can you believe he did something so unjust?!" 

"So… cunning, actually." Lina quickly started to scheme. "He must be powerful in his own sense, to be able to use a mind spell so strong to control everybody who enters…" 

"Why would he do that?" Gourry blinked. "You think he couldn't find a real unicorn?" 

"Of course not!! No unicorn would be dumb enough to be caught. He must've enchanted all of his creatures to gain customers." 

"But… there were some real creatures there, too." Amelia's voice became sad at this. "Humans, just like us, and he had them caged and mistreated." 

"Humans?¡" Both Lina and Gourry exclaimed, both in surprise and dislike. 

"Yes!! There was a girl about our age, Miss Lina - he had sown wings to her back and called her a siren. And she was almost naked, and looked so sad!!" 

"What a scoundrel…" Gourry muttered, frowning. "How can someone be so cruel, to do that with a girl?" Lina nodded. 

"There was also this crippled man…" Amelia continued, "He had only one eye, but with the illusion, he looked like a Cyclops. And, the one that impressed me the most… a Chimera." 

"Eh? Ca-meera?" 

"No, Gourry - Chi-me-ra. A mix of creatures, or something like that." 

"Yes - this one was a man, but he had stone skin." 

"Stone skin?" The blonde cocked his head. "Was it even able to move?" 

"Well, he was able to leap at the jars and talk, so I guess he could…" 

"Wait a minute there!!" Lina cried, interrupting. "_He_ could _talk_??" 

"Well, he… um, looked to be a man." Amelia semi-blushed. The loincloth did little to hide the chimera's attributes. "And his voice sounded like a man's, too." 

"…so this man, Messon, is a strong-enough sorcerer to build such a chimera…?" 

"No, he captured it." 

"Aw, poo. I was hoping I could get some information out of him." 

"…poo?" 

"Imagine - I could become the strongest sorceress around!! Not that I'm not already." Lina said. She loved to flaunt, but at least with that, she was being quite truthful - the petite redheaded had enough power to blow an entire town and most probably would be quite able to hold her own against Xelloss - in fact, one or two spells in Lina's arsenal could probably defeat or even kill the man. 

However, Amelia was not thinking of that - she was thinking of the opening Lina was showing there. 

"Well, he's powerful anyway. He managed to trick both Miss Filia and me!! Perhaps he has some secret spells…" 

"Bah, mind-control is not my zone." Lina dismissed the idea. 

"…and he might have some money." 

"What are you getting at?" The girl arched an eyebrow. 

Gourry sighed. "Mention money and you'll have Lina's complete and undivided attention." 

Amelia suppressed a giggle. "Well, Miss Lina, I was thinking about, you know, maybe helping those creatures escape, since it's completely unjust for them to be caged." 

"So…?" 

"You want our help, don't you?" The blonde man quickly offered. 

"Yes, of course!! Miss Filia and Mr. Xelloss have already agreed to help, but I need more people!! I want to be sure we'll be able to free all the creatures and that no innocent by passer will be hurt…" 

"So, some of these creatures are dangerous, uh?" Gourry seemed to be thinking. "Why would you want to free them if they are dangerous, Amelia?" 

"It doesn't matter if they are, Mr. Gourry!! If we are there to control things, nothing will happen at all. And we can't leave them there, either!! What will happen to them if they continue to suffer from this assault to their freedom? Who knows what kind of unbearable treatment they are subjected to!! No, Mr. Gourry, it doesn't matter if they are dangerous or not - we can't allow such a thing to go on!!" The girl finished the speech pointing a finger to the sky dramatically. 

"Ar… er, well, what do you think, Lina?" 

The redheaded had stood silent so far. "Mmmh… well, Gourry, if Amelia here will let me take the money and/or the magic knowledge we find…" 

"You can keep the books. The money should go to those creatures that need it!! The 'Siren', the 'Cyclops', the Chimera!!" 

"Alright, then." Lina crossed her arms, a little bit ticked at the loss of the money. "Let's check the fair tomorrow. If I deem anything to be valuable, we'll help." 

Gourry sighed. "If you say so, Lina." 

Amelia was so happy, she would've probably done a victory pose if it wasn't because of Filia walking towards them with a soaked Xelloss coming behind.   
  
  


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Zelgadiss couldn't get himself to sleep that night. It was a rather usual thing for him, though, to have sleepless nights that were spent in the planning of his escape or the planning of how he would kill his captor. But that night was different… that night, he _wanted_ to sleep, if only to escape the sounds coming from the master wagon. 

Panting, above every other sound, and a few muffled whimpers. He knew what was going on inside the Master's wagon… it made him want to cut the bars once and for all and finish things on the spot. But he couldn't, so he just satisfied himself with punching as hard as he could the orihalcon wall of his cage to let his rage out even a little. 

Twenty minutes or so later, in the cage next to his, there came the sound of something soft dropping on the floor, and then the metal door closing and someone locking it. A few minutes went by, and someone started crying with violent, broken sobs. 

"Lizzie?" Zelgadiss called, half-crawling to the end of his cage and towards his neighbor's. "Lizzie, are you alright?" 

The sobs stopped for an instant, only to restart violently. "Oh, Zel…" A girl's voice spoke in between tears, "He… he did it again…" 

The chimera grunted in frustration. Poor Lizzie - kidnapped away from her home, Messon had sown owl wings to her back using some strange spell and had forced her, as he had forced him, to stay all day long in a cage, half-naked. Not happy with taking her away from everything she loved and destroying her life, the Master also had the custom of having sexual intercourse with the girl every so often, leaving her more racked every time. 

"Lizzie…" He called again, "Don't cry. I'll kill the bastard someday, I promise." 

"Zel…" The voice answered meekly. Lizzie kept crying, rambling without realizing. "We are prisoners. We can't escape… we'll die here. Why can't I die already? I want to die. I want to, I want to. I can't take it… I can't, I can't." 

"Poor girl." A deep voice came from the another cage, in front of Zelgadiss'. He recognized it as Mark's - the Cyclops. "She is lucky, Zelgadiss." 

"Just how?" The stone-skinned man snarled. Mark could be so calm, so indifferent, it simply angered him. 

"Die, die, die, die…" Lizzie kept chanting, in a vain attempt to lull herself. 

"If that man was even more sick than he was…" 

"Even if he did something worse, he couldn't hurt her more." The chimera spat. "He has destroyed her completely anyway." 

"It can always be worse." 

"How?¡ We are trapped, caged, mistreated, abused and poor Lizzie gets raped every week. How can it be worse?¡" 

At the mention of her name, the girl gave a long, desperate moan full of pain and sadness. The moan broke into sobbing again, and the 'Die, die, die' lullaby came back. 

Silence followed for a while. Finally, Mark continued: 

"We could've lost all will to live, Zelgadiss." 

He laughed in return. "I can't die just yet." 

"I know. I can't, either. We all have different goals - Lizzie wants to return home. You want to kill Messon and continue with your search. Me…" Zelgadiss could almost swear the one-eyed man was smiling. "I want to take care of Cerberus and lead a peaceful, normal life again before I die. Isn't that right, boy?" A whistle followed that sentence, and Cerberus' one head barked from the distance. 

Zelgadiss sneered. "You two… I find you all extremely weak." 

Lizzie had fallen asleep. Mark sighed. "We are just very different, Zelgadiss."   
  
  


* * *

  
  


The following day at the Fair would have been exactly the same as always for Zelgadiss if it wasn't because a certain familiar someone walking around the fair's grounds. The same man with purple hair that had taunted him the day before was back, along with his girlfriend. The chimera had to wonder, why were they visiting such a place again? At least the girl looked to be a snotty upper class snob, one that wouldn't like to visit lowly places like this one. 

However, the two of them didn't seem to be looking at the creatures now - instead, they were walking from cage to cage, observing the positions and often arguing with each other about which place was best. 

Zelgadiss' attention was quickly distracted, though, as someone started to yell not far away. 

"No, Gourry, no!! I keep telling you, you can't use common glue to attach wings to people!!" 

"But that girl…" 

"No glue. Magic. Get it? You just have to… ignore the spell." 

"I know that, Lina. From the time we entered, I could see everything was a fake. 

The chimera, still sitting at the bottom of the cage, arched an eyebrow. It seemed there were a lot of people around the area with enough magic knowledge to see through the spell… and enough voice to alert everyone around of the prank they had been fooled by. 

"Then why did you keep asking me?¡" The redheaded girl who answered to the name of Lina yelled. 

The man, in return, only wagged his finger. "Well, I was just wondering how could you hide the glue so well." 

"What glue?¡?" 

"Eeeeh…. Excuse me, Mr. Chimera?" Zelgadiss almost jumped. To the right of his cage, a short girl with large blue eyes and black hair was standing - she had been there the day before as well, he believe. "Mr. Chimera? Good day." 

The blue man stared at the girl. What could she possibly want with him? Just yesterday she was referring to him as 'it', and now she was trying to start a friendly conversation. 

"I'm sorry if I interrupt anything…" The girl said, wavering. "But I wanted to apologize for yesterday. For - you know, taking for granted that you couldn't talk nor understand. I shouldn't have done that; a book is never to be judged by it's cover. It was an unjust behavior of me so, would you forgive me?" 

Again, Zelgadiss didn't answer. He had no reason to, and he would rather have the girl leave. The book she was hugging close to her chest did seem interesting, though. 

"And, I wanted to ask you… do you have a name?" 

He sneered. "What do you think?" 

"That you do. I'm guessing you do, but I can't know if you don't tell me." She said, looking happy he finally answered. 

"Yes, I do. And that's none of your concern." 

"Wont you tell me your name? I'm Amelia. I'm please to meet you." 

"You are too forward for a girl." 

"Well, maybe… but, what's your name then?" 

"I haven't told it to the son of a bitch that runs the fair. I don't have to give it to you either." 

"You can't be possibly saying I'm like Mr. Messon!! He's an unjust, cruel person that must be punished by his crimes!! I'd never do something like this." The girl indicated the Fair's grounds with her hand. In the background, the blonde was yelling at her boyfriend and the redheaded was trying to explain something to hers. 

"I have no proof you are any different." 

She frowned. "I'm completely different!! I'd like to help you, Mr. Chimera. You and all these people, and animals. Mr. Messon has no right to have you trapped like this!" 

"Look, would you just stop calling me 'Mr. Chimera'?¡ It's frustrating enough to be one without you rubbing the fact!!" 

Blinking, the girl looked a little confused. "Ah, sorry, I hadn't thought it would bother you that much. But how am I to call you if I don't know your name, then?" The girl half-huffed. "Wont you let me help you?" 

"You could start to help by leaving me alone, and maybe just giving me that book you are carrying." Zelgadiss parted his eyes from her, looking at the bars in front of him. 

"This… but you wont like it. It's just, uh, a pink novel…" 

"Girl, I haven't read anything in almost two years. It could be a fairy tale for all I care." 

"Fine… I'll give it to you if you tell me your name." 

Sighing, he turned to face her again. "Zelgadiss." 

"Mr. Zelgadiss. Nice to meet you!!" A petite hand was offered through the bars, careful not to touch them. He took it and quickly released it, hoping she'd give him the book. 

However, as she placed it on his hand, she leant forward, close to the gate. "Mr. Zelgadiss - do you know who my friends are? Those four over there? We are going to get you all out tomorrow noon. It's Sunday, so just after church everybody will come here, and it'll be crowded enough for us to open the cages." 

Against his will, Zelgadiss' eyes widened. "You can open these locks?" 

"Yes - we all are mages, we should have no problem with them since we are outside the cages. We'll get you all out of here and to my place, where you'll be fed, washed and free to do as you please." 

The girl was starting to take her hand away, but he took her wrist and violently yanked her close again. 

"Girl - Amelia, you said - you know very well what will I do as soon as I'm free. If you want to free me, just remember that I'll kill that fat jerk as soon as I step out." 

"I… I can't allow that." The girl answered, grimacing and trying to free her hand. 

"The bastard deserves it." 

"I know - but I can't allow you to break another law - we are breaking a few already!! W-would you let go of my hand and mind your vocabulary please?" 

Zelgadiss released her hand, a little guilt appearing as he saw a bright red mark on her wrist. 

Amelia looked a little scared, but nonetheless determined. "Mr. Zelgadiss… well, I'll see you at noon." 

The girl left and walked to where two of her friends were standing already, the redheaded arguing with Mr. Messon about something. He looked down at the book in his hands, and half-smiled. 

"Since when Descartes classifies as a pink novel?"   
  
  


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**Notes:** I'm very glad all you people seem to be enjoying this story. As much as I'd like to, it won't be very long - five or six chapters at much. It's the way it wants to be written, and seemingly it wont allow me to do any different. I work on my stories based on time - certain things must happen during a limited lapse of time, and all things that need doing in here must be resolved within a weekend. 

Thanks to PyroPixie, Alea Seikou, Lady of the Moon, Raven Summersong, Ichiban Victory, Blue lady, Locke, Hysteria82, Dragonet of Ice, Suisei, Sis of Darkness, Amechan, Phizzy-chan and Ilione. Do tell me what do you think of this new chapter, I'll appreciate any critic. 

_WDR_


	4. Sunday

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**Disclaimer:** Nope, still no mine. And sueing me would be a waste of time and money, since I don't have any… and no, you can't take my dog, my chocolates or my computer.

  


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**Sideshow**

_ --- A Slayers Fanfiction by Winged Dancer._   
  


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4. Sunday.

_  


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He was growing nervous now. Restless. If he had enough space, he'd be pacing around the cage. It was almost one o'clock and there was no sign of his supposed rescuers. Soon, people would start leaving the Fair and go to their own homes to have lunch; after all, how longer would the supposedly high-class stay at such place? He had already heard a few comments 'But darling, this place is disgusting!' and 'Well, _I_ am certain the Ul Copts would _never_ visit such a place!!', and he could only guess that the Ul Copts were surely the family most tried to imitate. 

Whenever he heard those kind of things, that only meant that the Fair would soon pick up and they would move on to another town, on to a pace where they could get more money… and this time, that meant he would loose the best chance he had had at freedom and revenge for years. 

"Damn. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up." Zelgadiss scowled inwardly, as yet another batch of boys stared at him from the other side of the bars, whispering between them. 

Just as the girl that had visited for two straight days (Amelia, was it?) had predicted, the place was much fuller on Sunday. Almost everybody was wearing formal, semi-elegant clothes, too, meaning that they all had come from the Church… but still, no signal of the group he was waiting for. 

He sighed frustrated, resting against the cage's back wall, that was luckily not electrified. The weather was specially hot that day, it seemed - everybody was fanning themselves with what they could, most women were carrying parasols to protect their fair skin from getting sunburned, and even him with his stone skin could perceive a hot humidness in the air that was not usual… What time it was? He couldn't tell very well. It was as if the climate was making him sleepy, and as the conviction that the group of 'saviors' wouldn't appear and that they were only playing with his mind only made things worse. He closed his eyes, ignoring the people passing in front of him.   
  
  


"Yo." 

"It would be nice if I could sleep a little now…" He said to himself. 

"Hey!" 

"Just ignore them. They'll get tired of mocking you." His monologue continued. 

"Hey Zelgadiss, will you just wake up already? We haven't got all day you know." 

The chimera's eyes shot open. "How do you know my name?" He snapped at the person that had called him. 

Who was, by the by, none other than the red-haired girl that was yelling the day before, who smiled before answering. 

"So your name _is_ Zelgadiss, uh? I guess Amelia was right after all. I'm Lina. Nice to meet you." 

Around the cage, people muttered excitedly among themselves - a girl was talking to the creature and it was answering! 

"…nice to meet you??" Someone exclaimed, as if insulted. 

"Zelgadiss?" A grown woman whispered nervously, taking a few steps back. 

"It would seem so…" A man, apparently her husband, muttered back. 

"Why would someone give something like _that_ a name!" A young woman scoffed. "Well, at least it suits it, such a bad-sounding name…" 

"Hey, leave him alone you… upper-class snob." Lina refrained from saying something stronger. 

Zelgadiss half stared - was the girl defending him? 

"I mean, really!!" The redheaded continued. "It's enough that he's ugly and all that and you come to rub it!!" 

His head dropped. No, she wasn't. She didn't sound like she was trying to insult him, at the very least. 

The other woman sniffed. "Trust the lowlifes to like the lowlifes." 

Lina grinned. "See? From freak to lowlife. That's gotta be good, right?" 

He didn't know whether to scowl as usual or thank that they had come after all (Although he was feeling more up to the first one). He didn't have time to do either, though, as the girl kept on talking. 

"So you are a chimera, uh? I've heard that guys like you are pretty dangerous. You know - all powerful, and quite violent." She examined him. "What are you made of? Rock of some kind, right? Anything else? What gives you your blue coloration? Can you do any magic? I bet you do, or you wouldn't have orihalcon bars. Black? White? Shamanistic? Hey, were you ever taught by someone or do you just somehow absorb the spells, or maybe you channel the energy such as rogue mages do? Who's your master, too, and how did you manage to get captured if you are so strong? Hey, maybe you are defective or something." 

"Why should I tell you, of all people." All the thankfulness had washed away under the girl's inquisitive red eyes, supplanted instead by anger. 

"I don't know - perhaps because I'll be helping you all?" 

"Oh, really? I have troubles believing such a short, squalid little girl could be of any use in such a situation…" 

"What?¡ Wait a minute - are you telling me you haven't heard of me?¡ Of Lina Inverse, the famous beautiful magician whose powers and charm have smitten thousands??" 

Zelgadiss blinked. "No." 

"Dammit. I really need to make a name for myself." Lina muttered, starting to walk away. The people made way for her, staring at her in shock - how did such a little girl know so much about magic, a topic considered even arcane by most? 

"Hey, girl, wait - what's the idea?" The chimera called, not caring if any of the audience heard of the 'idea'. 

"Ah, yes." The girl returned, and whispered. "Well, Amelia comes here in a few minutes, we start unlocking all of the semi-reasonable animal's cages, you all follow the main road which we have marked with white and get to the Seyrunn's territory - the Goodwill Estate, and then you are free to go where you want." 

"Semi-reasonable animals?" 

"Yeah. If the animal is too violent or far too unreasonable, it stays captive. Therefore, the harpy stays captive, the spiders do too, that snake thing, Fenrir the hungry-looking wolf and the giant cockroach." 

"…that one it's not very dangerous." 

"Yes, but _I_ don't want a giant cockroach running around free." Lina ewwed. "See you later at the - ah well, you know." With that, she went away, careful no one had heard of the plan or of the meeting point they had chosen. 

The chimera leant back again against the wall. Quite a group the saviors seemed to be. Of the three he 'knew', the girls seemed to be at the very least different from most women he had ever seen staring at him through the bars. Amelia, to start with, seemed to be extremely interested in helping him and everybody else. And she was reading Descartes - last he could remember, that was considered unladylike and therefore every respectable woman avoided reading things like that. Then, the second girl - Lina, he recalled - was much less serious than the other, and seemed instead prone to joke around. Her poking had gotten on her nerves soon, though. And finally, the purple-haired man from the first day… well, Zelgadiss had felt a strong magical aura around him, and yet he looked too cheerful to be so strong. Not only that, but he looked like he enjoyed causing trouble… 

At the end, he decided, there was nothing he could do but trust the queer group and hope everything would be alright. After all, they _had_ finally arrived, meaning they kept their promises. 

A familiar black head making her war through the crowd got his heart beating a little faster - if what the redheaded had said was true, it meant that the plan was about to start. That he would soon be free - free! Free to do as he wanted, free to carry on with his life, free to have his vengeance. 

"Mr. Zelgadiss!!" Amelia greeted, smiling as if nothing important was about to happen. "Good day!! How did you sleep?" 

Zelgadiss wondered how could she ask of such trivial things at a moment like that one. "Fine - yes, yes. When will it start?" 

"Soon, soon, calm down. Did you like the book?" 

"Yes, it was interesting. Do you have everything ready?" 

"We'll start on Mr. Xelloss signal. You know, I have all kinds of books at home - you can drop by the library when you are there." 

"That might be - wait, how will I get to your home?" He had pretty much forgotten about what the other girl had said. 

"Don't worry, I'll guide you." Amelia walked to the side of the cage that had the lock. "I'll be taking care of you during this whole ordeal." 

Zelgadiss glared at her. "Taking care of me…? Look girl, I don't need you to protect me. Just get me out of here and leave it at that." 

"I didn't mean it like that!!" She defended herself. "It's not like I'll be baby-sitting you. What I mean is, well…" She scanned the crowd, standing on her toes. 

"Yes?" Zelgadiss inquired, anxious. Was the moment near? 

"Well, you wont like it." Amelia sighed. 

"Just tell me already, dammit!!" He really was about to snap. The 'plan' was about to unfold and the girl was playing mysterious. 

"Fine, fine. What I mean is that I'll be close to you to make sure you don't kill anyone." 

"What?¡" The chimera would've launched himself against the bars only to release them as soon as he was painfully reminded that he wasn't allowed to do so. On his knees, he continued to glare at the girl while massaging his hands. "You - what do you mean, to make sure I - " 

"Stay quiet!!" Amelia hissed. The electric shock the bars had given him has attracted quite some attention, and now his yelling at her was definitely causing some surprised comments. 

"Why, Miss Seyrunn…" A grown woman muttered, looking at the girl in distaste. 

"Hello, Miss Baker!" Amelia answered cheerfully but with a strained voice. "Nice day, isn't it?" 

"Sure it is…" Miss Baker answered, walking away. 

Zelgadiss breathed in, trying vainly to calm himself. Was she ignoring him?? "What do you mean, to make sure I don't kill anyone?" He repeated. "You know very well my reasons to kill that idiot." 

Suddenly, from not far away, a small ball of fire raised to the sky and exploded, causing a colorful rain to come down. People cheered, most probably believing it was the beginning of a firework show. 

And then, a scream was heard, followed by some barks. From the other side, someone else screamed and many masculine voices started to yell, as if trying to control the situation. 

Zelgadiss tensed. It was staring - it _had_ started! He anxiously turned to Amelia, and was extremely surprised and angry to find her backing away from his cage. 

"What are you doing?" He barked. "Get me out of here!!" 

"A snake!! Oh my God, run!!" Someone yelled not four cages away. 

"Who is letting these things out?" The fair was a commotion by then, people running and screaming with no end. Someone was blocking their way out, it seemed, to keep the things the same and allow the ex-captives to escape. 

But Zelgadiss was not thinking of that in that moment. 

"Let me out of here!!" The chimera roared, more angry than he had been for years. And yet the girl kept her ground. 

"You have to promise." She cried over the tumult. 

"Promise your ass!! Just - get me out of here, now!!" He bellowed again. He suddenly felt as if history repeated itself. He had trusted, and again he was being left behind, he had been betrayed… he took his hands to his head, feeling despair taking over him already. 

"Just promise!!" Amelia strode to the cage. "Promise you wont kill that man!!" 

"He deserves it!!" 

"If you kill him, it will only make you worse than him!!" 

"I don't care. Just get me out of here!!" 

The girl looked into his eyes. "Promise." 

People kept screaming. With one quick look over the place, he could see Mark and Lizzie already free and walking towards the entrance, along with 'Cerberus', the Unicorn, and a blonde girl carrying a rabbit and a frog in her hands. To the right of this cage, a blonde with a strange sword was freeing Fenrir the wolf while the red-headed cast a sleep spell on the canine. 

It was either promise or captivity. No vengeance, but freedom. 

He met her eyes, and with an urgent whisper, he continued: "I promise. Just let me free." He had given up on one of his greatest desires. 

A small hand appeared in front of him. "You promise?" The girl's voice asked. 

He took the hand, squeezing it as lightly as he could. Amelia released his hand, and placed hers above the lock. 

The door was open. He was free. 

With caution, he stepped out, and looked around. Free… it had been such a long time. To be able to stand tall without walls around him to feel the air around him, to be able to move…! He stretched, feelings his back bones crackle with the unaccustomed position. 

"Quick, Mr. Zelgadiss!!" Amelia took his wrist. 

"Right." He reminded himself. "I'll wonder at this once I'm out of here…" 

Amelia guided him around the crowd, earning more and more screams as they bumped into people. 

"The chimera is free!!" The woman from before cried in fear. 

Zelgadiss allowed himself a smile - for once, a half-happy smile. He was only lacking one thing… but yes, he was free.   
  
  


* * *

  
  


From the entrance, where he was floating around to make sure no one left the place until all of the creatures were freed, Xelloss smiled. He loved confusion, he loved when people panicked and ran like this. That was, after all, the reason he had agreed to help the girls. 

There was only one more thing he would've wanted to see, though… and Amelia had gone and made sure that that thing wouldn't happen. 

Still, he could help the chimera a little… in his own way. The purple-haired boy smiled, looking over at one of the still-locked cages. A dark, solitary bird of maybe a height of five feet was sitting inside of it, almost scowling at the people outside. 

"And this is why I love harpies so much." Xelloss sung, raising a finger and wagging it. 

At the distance, the harpy's cage opened, and with one dark cry, the bird flew off, diving into the crowd. 

Soon, a girl was screaming for her mommy - and the mommy was unable to do anything. What could a woman do against an enraged harpy?   
  
  


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Amelia froze. Someone was calling for help, and some of the screams she was hearing sounded more of pain than of fear. 

Moving people aside, and with the heavy chimera trudging along in resignation, she made her way to the center of the problem-area, and was stunned to see the harpy eagle attacking a little girl, people trying to scare it away and being repelled by the humongous bird. 

There was no time to lose. 

"Flare arrow!!" She called, launching the attack just above the eagles head. The bird looked up, and leaving its pray, dived against the attacker. 

Releasing Zelgadiss' hand, the black haired girl moved aside, at the same time calling a small Bomb di Wind and sending the bird off course. 

Furious, the harpy launched again towards her with a sharp cry. 

"Fire…ball!!" Amelia sent the attack, but only managed to scorch the bird's wing, and not enough to spoil it's trajectory - the bird zoomed by her, scratching her face. 

"Damn…" She allowed herself to curse as she felt her blood quickly pouring from her left eyebrow, and barely ducking a second attack from the animal. 

"Miss - are you alright?" Someone called from behind, but she didn't have time to answer - 

"Fireball!!" She called again, and again the bird dodged her attack. However, she didn't want to risk using anything bigger, lest she could hurt someone else. 

And then, an idea - throwing a few consecutive flare arrows at the harpy, she caused it to soar higher. Soon, the bird was diving towards her. 

"Laphas seed!!" And the bird was tied, collapsing against the floor, apparently fainting. Quickly, before the animal reacted, she cast a sleeping spell on it 

Amelia panted. People looked at her with wide eyes. 

"You… you can use magic?" Someone asked, amazed. 

"Well, yes…" She answered, suddenly remembering Zelgadiss. 

"Please… heal my daughter!!" A woman cried, carrying the attacked girl in her arms. Amelia looked around - the chimera was nowhere to be seen. She had to find him - soon! But, she couldn't leave the kid like that, full of gashes and cuts, blood streaming down all of her body… 

"Of course, m'am." She sighed, and yet smiled as best as she could.   
  
  


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He hadn't wanted to break the promise. He hated to do things like that - even after all that had happened, he still had some honor. The girl had helped him, she had trusted him, but above all, he owed her his freedom. She had opened his cage door, even knowing he could simply kill her and do as he wished. But she had trusted him, and yet, when he had seen the harpy eagle attacking the kid, and Amelia rushing to help, a little voice in his mind told him that it was now or never… that he had a chance to get his revenge and avenge everything that had happened… to him and to everyone. 

Running to the Master trailer, he tried to think things over, to make sure that was the correct decision. Many images of the two past years passed through his mind. Lizzie crying every other night, Mark staring wistfully at the night, all of them, animals and humans, getting beat up for misbehaving, all the mockery he had to stand… 

Before he reached the door, he had made up his mind. 

"This needs to be done." That was his reason and his excuse, and as he kicked the Master Trailer door open, he found the ex-Master already trembling. 

"You knew it would come down to this." 

"Of - of course not!!" 

"Were you so sure of yourself then?" 

"Well - well, how would you escape?" 

"…bastard." 

A stone knee connected to the fat man's stomach, and he fell to the floor in pain. 

"You always though yourself to be above us. But in this whole fair, the only monster was you." Zelgadiss placed his feet over Mr. Messon's neck. The slave now had the Master at his will. 

"Kill me already then." The man gurgled out. "I can't do anything against you." 

"Coward. Is that why you took Lizzie every time?¡" The chimera, enraged, bent down and took the man's neck, bringing him to his eye level. "All you did - everything! - it was to make you feel that you were better?" Mr. Messon's beady eyes widened as his hand tightened around his neck. 

"But it's the same. It doesn't matter if you knew or not, what matters is that now I'm free." 

The greasy man gritted his teeth. "Then kill me now and be done, you freak!!" 

For his surprise, Zelgadiss laughed dryly and eased his hold, dropping him on his feet. "Ah… I see you think this will be nice and quick… well… think again." 

A stone first connected with his face.   
  
  


* * *

  
  


Amelia sighed. It was past two and a half now, and there was no sign of Zelgadiss. He had disappeared during the fight with the harpy, and after that she had had to help the injured people and cure everyone she could. How had so many gotten wounded? Hadn't Lina and the others been taking care of that? And how had the harpy be freed, if they had agreed it would stay in its cage? 

Things hadn't resulted as she had wished, and she couldn't fully understand why. But at least it was over now. 

Lina and the others had gone to her house already, leading the crew of refugees. The two humans besides Zelgadiss couldn't find words to express their happiness - the girl, Lizzie, couldn't even stop crying. She had decided to stay and search for the Chimera, but he was nowhere to be seen - and it wasn't 'till a quarter past two that she finished curing all the wounded, and it had taken another fifteen minutes for the grounds to empty and give her a chance to search for the stone man. 

She guessed that the church bell would soon announce it was three o'clock when the sound of footsteps on the semi-dried grass her look behind her. Zelgadiss had re-appeared, looking much more serene that she had even seen him before. For a moment, she smiled - and yet, as her eyes fell on the chimera's blood-streaked hands, all traces of the smile were erased. 

"I suppose I shouldn't even ask if you are alright or where were you." She sighed, getting up from the box she had used as a chair. 

The blue man frowned, and looked down at his hands. While he said nothing, the small smile of satisfaction that appeared in his face was enough. 

"Why did you do it?¡" Amelia cried, clenching her own hands. "You promised!" 

He faced her again. "And _you_ don't even know what I was through! You - you spoiled rich girl, what do you know of what _I_ suffered?" The man cried at her, but she stood her ground. "After all this - I had but two wishes, to be free and to have my vengeance. Do you think I'd allow you to take half of my life away?" 

The girl's arms were shaking. "If to kill someone is half of your life, then I pity you!! How empty can you be?" 

"You wouldn't understand!" 

"You are right - I don't! I really don't!! There are many Gods to believe in, but every good one tells you to forgive and forget… why couldn't you?" 

" 'Forgive and forget'? After what I have gone through?" 

"And besides - is that's it? You promised, and yet - was that just to get out? Were you just using us?" 

He sighed, as in frustration. "You wouldn't understand." 

"No, I told you I don't." She mirrored his sigh. "What can I say? I'm - I'm disappointed." She turned around, starting to walk towards the dusty road not far from where the Fair used to be. 

Irritated that the satisfaction he had been feeling for killing the ex-Master was vanishing thanks to the girl's scolding, he sat at the same box Amelia had been, resting his head on one of his hands. His pride didn't allow him to explain that he actually didn't want to use them, and that he appreciated that they all trusted him. But he still felt bad because of it. 

"Let's just go." He heard the girl calling. "Don't you want to at least eat something at my home?" 

"Wait - at your home?" He echoed, unsure of what he was hearing. 

"Don't you remember? I was going to take you to my home, so you'll rest and have some time for yourself." 

A half-smile appeared on his face as he stood up. "I thought you were angry at me?" 

"I am!!" The girl huffed as he got to her side. "But what kind of person would I be if I were to leave you like that after what you've gone through? It would be unkind and unjust of me!" 

Again the feeling of freedom washed all over him, and he chuckled lightly. If she couldn't understand him, she was for him even a bigger mystery.   
  
  


* * *

  
  


**Notes:** Just a clarification - in this AU line, there are two main Gods to believe in… the Catholic God known as God and the Flare Dragon, known as Cepheid. Of course, since magic is getting lost already, Cepheid believers are growing scarce… 

Anyway, so they are free now. This shouldn't take much longer. It was a little bit hard to write this chapter - I didn't want Zel to sound as if he was just using the group, and yet I didn't want him to sound as if he was so attached, since he had just met them after all. So he's only _very_ grateful, an most probably would like to return the favor… that's why he finds it so hard to break his promise. 

Regarding Descartes - yep, he's what you all mentioned...the originator of the coordinate system and two-dimensonal alegebra, a mathematician/scientist/philosopher and a boozy fart - well, I don't know that one. But he did write about social Justice or something like that, so that's what Ame must've been reading... 

Thanks to those who reviewed - Locke, Darkened Elf, The Narrator, Raven Summersong, Chibi Kaz, Alea Seikou, Phizzy-chan and Sis of the Darkness. And so, until the next chapter. 

_WDR_


	5. Slumber

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**Disclaimer:** Once more, with not much feeling - The Slayers are not mine, nor am I making profit from this.

  


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**Sideshow**

_ --- A Slayers Fanfiction by Winged Dancer._   
  


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5.Slumber.

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In olden times, the Seyrunn Estate was quite more lively than it was by then. When the family was whole, it was as if a happy aura covered the house - Mrs. Seyrunn was a well-known healer and a very kind woman, if a little extravagant. Mr. Seyrunn was as happy as any man could be, and the two girls lived happy in the big house, running around the gardens and mingling with the servants all around the place. 

When a strange fever had befallen Mrs. Seyrunn, most people in town were concerned. Such an useful and recognized woman surely wouldn't leave just because of a fever, right? Besides, she was known for her White Magic talents - wouldn't she be able to heal herself? 

Three months later, after much struggling, Ms. Seyrunn died and her thirteen years old daughter, Gracia, left the Estate angry at the world, declaring she'd live on her own as a mercenary sorcerer. 

The Estate was then covered by grief for a few months; and it didn't matter that it was taken care of as it always was, it didn't matter that the house was as white as ever, the gardens full of life and that the sole reminder of the mourning the house was going through was a black bow on the main door - that single bow seemed to create a shadow that covered all of the house. 

However, time went on and the mourning was forgotten, even if Mrs. Seyrunn was not. Young Amelia grew under her father's guidance and proved that she had inherited her mother's healing talents - something that soon proved to be quite handy, since the girl also developed the ability to climb things and then fall off them with not much grace… 

Slowly, the Seyrunn Estate recovered part of it's life. Phil was known to be eccentric already, and while Amelia grew to be a lot like him, she was generally liked and somewhat understood around town… 

And yet, seeing his daughter's friends walking into his house with an entourage made up of an one-eyed man, a half-naked girl, a dog, a mare, a rather big iguana and some other animals was something Phil hadn't been expecting to see in all of his life. 

"Heya, Mr. Seyrunn!" A small redheaded he thought was named Lina greeted him from the lobby, while he stood at his study's door. 

"Miss. Inverse! Would you care to explain what is this about?" He asked, trying not to get _very_ angry at the group of young adults downstairs. They were known to have some destructive power, and he didn't want his house to become a victim. 

"Why yes we can!" A boy with purple hair answered instead. "Your daughter very kindly instructed us to bring our new friends here! All your anger should be directed at her, thank you!" 

"Amelia told you to -?!" 

"Yes sir - please forgive Xelloss, he's not good at explaining." A blonde woman, the boy's fiancée if he remembered, interrupted. "Perhaps it would be better if Amelia herself explained, but seeing she hasn't arrived yet, I'll do my best." He started walking downstairs as the girl cleared her throat. " 'These persons and animals were victims to a great injustice! They had been trapped by a man who was using them for profit; kept in cages for years and treated as slaves - nay, as mere animals, or worse! Even the animals suffered under the reign of their master, a man whose heart had been corrupted by evil and didn't care for his kind any more! We felt it was our duty to save these poor souls from their entrapment and help that man return to the way of Justice!' " 

All the people in the room eyed the girl weirdly. Except Phil, who was, truth to be told, a little moved by the speech. 

Taking some air, the blonde continued. "So we need someplace to hide these people. And they need food. And a bath." 

"Go ahead, go ahead!" He moved aside to allow passage to the refugees. "I can't explain how happy I am that my daughter conducted such a beautiful act!" 

"And how d'you know it was Amelia?" The redheaded muttered as she passed by, but he ignored her. 

"By the way, where's my daughter?" He stopped the last one of the group to pass by, Xelloss. 

"Amelia? Oh, she was waiting for one of the other prisoners." The man grinned. "One of the most dangerous, I have to say - capable of killing with no remorse, and with such an ease as well! Ah, but don't preoccupy yourself, Mister - I'd say Amelia is quite capable of taming the beast." Smiling once more, Xelloss followed the others, leaving a now very worried Phillionel staring at the doorway.   
  
  


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"Good impersonation," Was the first comment Lina did once she was alone with Filia and the siren girl, Lizzie. 

"Aw, hush." The blonde frowned, getting into the bathroom and starting to fill the tube with water. "You can't deny that delivering a speech was easier than to actually explain all and then explain why he himself shouldn't go punish the injustice." 

"You still could give Amelia a run for her money." The redheaded kneeled in front of the third girl, who had said absolutely nothing since leaving her cage. "Hey, you alright?" 

Hearing no answer, Filia walked close as well. "Are you OK honey? You went through a lot, didn't you? But don't worry, it's all gone now…" 

The girl looked up at them with wide eyes and in a second, broke down crying in loud sobs. Filia enveloped her in a friendly hug, while Lina awkwardly patter her back. 

"I'm sorry!!" The girl exclaimed in tears, "I - I'm just so happy…" It was hard to believe that though, given the fury her crying had. "I'm happy… happy…" 

"Yes, yes…" Filia patted her head, not really sure if she should let her continue or not. "Now, why don't you go and get yourself clean? We'll get you some clothes meanwhile, fine?" 

Wiping her nose with her bare arm, the girl nodded enthusiastically while smiling broadly, her tears apparently forgotten. 

"Thank you! I don't think I could possibly thank you enough." She took hold of both of the other girl's hands. 

"'S alright, really." Lina shook her hand, a little confused but basking in the compliment. 

"Now get clean or you'll miss supper." Filia insisted, and both Lizzie and Lina's faces lit up at the mention of food. 

The girl walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Soon, the sound of splashing water could be heard, and the two girls left the room to search for some clothes for her. 

"Poor girl." Lina whispered, thinking of a topic that wasn't to be mentioned in normal volume. 

"Yes. She must've suffered a lot…" Filia nodded, knowing what her friend was thinking. "I don't think we should ask her much about what happened during the time she was captive." 

Lina shook her head, pensive. "No. Better to leave that alone, right? Let's hope she'll get over it some way or another."   
  
  


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"This one will be your room for as long as you stay here." The young woman was indicating, and he was doing his best not to fall asleep right on that spot. "Over here's the bathroom, if you want to uh… take a bath, or use the toilet. And here's the night-cloth closet, and you can call the maid with this bell if you need anything. Uh, I don't have any pajamas for you, but I'm sure my father can lend you one of his…" 

"That - that's not necessary." He answered as quickly as he could. The girl - he was still having problems calling her 'Amelia' - had taken him to her house and, after introducing him to her father, taken him to an upper room. 

It was only five o'clock and he was feeling terribly tired, more than he had in years. 

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" The girl tried again, straightening the sheets on the bed. 

"Yes, I am. I'll eat later." He answered, trying his best not to snap at her - he was in her debt, after all, and for at least two reasons now. But he wanted to be left alone… to sleep, finally… 

She looked up from the bed, smiling rather sweetly, and walked to the door. "Well then, rest for a while. I'll see you at dinner, Mr. Zelgadiss." 

The door closed behind the girl and he left out a long sigh, half looking around the room but not really interested in what was in it. 

Dragging his feet, he closed the curtains on the window opposite to his bed and then left himself fall on it. 

_His_ bed. The mere thought of something being his after those years was exhilarating, and made him chuckle a little. Gods, he was tired… later, he would explain himself that such want of sleep was caused by the sudden freedom, the sudden disappearance of stress and worry - in other words, when he suddenly relaxed, all the sleepless nights that he had spent during those two years came back in a rush, and his body claimed for sleep. 

With what remained of strength, he yanked his old loincloth off and threw it across the room, covering himself with the bed sheets, and almost immediately drifting off to sleep.   
  
  


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"We shouldn't be here." 

"But we have little time, Gourry! Most people are still scared of the magic display they saw, but they'll call the police sooner or later and then we wont be able to get anything." 

"But what are we looking for, anyway?" The blonde complained as he and his companion neared to the Fair's Master trailer. 

"You know already Gourry." The girl, Lina, smiled with a greedy glint in her eyes. "Money, of course! Sure, at only three pieces per person it can't be much, but still we can't leave all that money just laying there." 

"Why not?" 

"Because!" 

"That's not a reason." 

"Fine. Because we'll use a share of that money to help Lizzie and Mark and that other guy, Zelgadiss. And also because, if the police arrives and finds the money untouched, they'll have to think of a reason for all the creatures to 'escape', but if the money's not there, they'll simply think that the creatures-escaping bit was to distract the owner and get the money. Get it?" 

Gourry took a hold of the trailer's door. "Not really, but if it'll help Mark and Lizzie and Zel, then I guess it's a good thing." 

Lina patted his back (a little hard) while beaming at him. "And tell you what, with what remains of the money, the two of us could leave our houses and go search for fortune on our own." 

Gourry's eyes lit up at that. "Really? How so?" 

"My magic, your swordplay, I'm sure we can manage." The redheaded nodded, crossing her arms. 

The sight that was before them once they managed to open the door wasn't exactly pretty. All four walls of the trailer were stained with blood, and the floor was no better; with not only blood but a corpse they recognized as the Fair owner's laying at the middle of it. 

Lina turned around, not really liking what she saw. Gourry grimaced, but forced himself to stare - he'd have to get used to that if he was going to endure the world on his own, right? 

The body showed signs of great violence. The shirt was torn and bloody on various parts, as if the torso had been kicked with violence and the very flesh had been ripped apart on one side, and the legs were twisted at abnormal angles - broken, at least one of them. The face was nearly completely disfigured - eyes open in a petrified, chilling stare; all of the skin bloodied and large parts of it torn apart. The mouth was open in an interrupted gasp of terror, saliva and blood leaving a trail down the man's cheek, and he noted, with disgust, that quite a few teeth were missing from their rightful places. 

The wounds were too many to actually know the cause of death by simply staring, and he didn't feel like staring either. A little wooden chest was on top of a bookcase, thankfully not very close to the cadaver. Reaching out, he took the box and pushed Lina out of the trailer, closing the door behind him. 

The two of them walked out of the campsite and towards the Seyrunn Estate in silence. 

As the house appeared in front of them, Lina was the first to talk. 

"That was… horrible." 

"I know." Gourry nodded 

"You think it was…?" 

"The blue guy?" 

"Yeah, him…" 

The man looked up at the nearing house. "Yeah, I guess. After all, he was the one who was missing, and Amelia had said something about having to be careful with him." 

"Yeah, but I assumed that was because he would try to attack some other people, but this…" Lina grimaced. 

"I don't like it either, but…" Gourry shook his head. "I guess he had it coming." 

"Maybe. But it was still horrible - I mean, his skin was _falling off_ at some point! Y'really think Zel did it?" 

"Who else then?" 

"…y'know, I think we shouldn't tell all of them about this." 

"Why? Shouldn't Lizzie and Mark be the first to know?" 

"Yeah, but maybe Zel wants to tell them himself. Or maybe he doesn't. But hell, they'll read about it tomorrow in the news, so lets just allow time to do it's thing." 

Again in silence, they entered the house. It was perhaps five and a half, but they felt somehow exhausted.   
  
  


* * *

  
  


The first thing his brain registered was that, while the light that was filling the place was starting to become bothersome, it wasn't as bothersome as it was most of the time - in other words, he had fallen asleep while facing the sole solid cage wall; and therefore the sun's rays weren't hitting him straight on the face, but instead reflecting on the metallic surface he was facing. 

That, however, didn't really explain why he didn't feel the cage's solid and cold floor - sure, his sense of touch was severely hindered by the fact that he was made of stone, but he still had some left; and right now it felt much more like he was surrounded by something soft and maybe a little warm instead of the cage's metallic floor. 

He moved one of his hands slowly. There was something in between his head and his hand, soft as what was surrounding him as well. Opening his eyes, he saw a white wall and a wooden night-table in front of him, a glass with water on the table. 

Slowly, his mind set things straight. 

He was free. He had been freed by a group of weird saviors, seemingly commanded by a black-haired girl that looked to be sixteen at most. 

The bastard was dead. He had made sure of that before leaving the trailer. He had washed the fat man's blood off his hands at a small stream before reaching the girl's house. 

He was now resting in a bed inside the girl's house, and given the amount of light that was coming in, it was morning. So he had slept from late afternoon to mid-morning - that was a lot, for him. But then again, he hadn't slept well in two years. 

He didn't want to move, though. He wasn't one to believe things were an illusion, of course - the sheets were real, the pillow was real too and so was the water glass he'd soon have to drink, since his mouth was parched. But he was just so damned comfortable in that position… he closed his eyes and felt himself fall into a half-conscious state in which he was only aware of the warmth that even with his rocky hide he could feel around him. 

Not much time later, he was again woken by the creaking of a door and the soft sound of footsteps. 

"He's still asleep." A female voice whispered. "Replace his water - I'll check if he's alright." 

"Yes, Miss." 

The two people got nearer, and yet he didn't move nor open his eyes. Someone took the glass from the table, to replace it, he guessed and then the other someone moved his hair away from his face and placed a hand on his forehead. 

That got his eyes open, and he turned around rather brusquely in surprise. 

With her hand still hovering over him was standing the girl who had gotten him free, with a shocked expression on her face. 

"Mr. Zelgadiss!" She exclaimed, her hand falling to her side. "Did I wake you? Sorry, that was not my intention…" 

"I was up already." He muttered, his vocal chords less awake than him. 

"I see - Isa, give him the water." The girl indicated the other person in the room, a woman of perhaps twenty-and-something years in a maid's uniform, who smiled politely and gave him his glass back. Swiftly, he drank all of it's contents. 

"Would you like anything else, Mister?" The maid asked as he gave her the empty glass back. 

"More water. Please." He managed to get out. 

"And fetch him something to eat as well, Isa, please." 

"Sure, Miss." With a small bow, the maid left the room. 

The girl - he was still trying to get her name back - smiled at him, and walked towards the widow to open the curtains. 

"Slept well, Mr. Zelgadiss?" 

He nodded, his old manners returning as an instinct. "Yes, thank you. Er - Amelia?" He added the last part only to see if he had gotten her name right. It was a little embarrassing to have forgotten the name of the one who had gotten him out of the cage, but he couldn't help it if all of his memories were hazy. 

"Yes?" The girl answered. So the name was right. 

"Eh - nothing." 

"I found this the other night when I checked on you." Amelia walked to a desk (which he had just noticed was there) and showed him a dirty piece of cloth - his loincloth, he guessed. "I don't think you'll want to keep it…" 

"Burn it for all I care." He groaned. And then he suddenly remembered that under the sheets he was, well, rather naked, and there was a woman in the room. He mentally wondered if his blush would be noticeable, what with his stone skin and all… 

As if reading his mind (or perhaps because she was holding his loincloth) the girl continued: "I found some of my father's old clothes. They'll fit you well while I get some your own size - I'll have Isa bring them for you soon. Do you want to have breakfast now or will you wait for lunch with the others?" 

"I - what's the time?" 

"Around half past eleven." She smirked. "Tuesday morning, by the way." 

"Wait - Tuesday? It can't be. We got here on Sunday." 

"The doctor said it was natural that you slept that much, since your body needed to recover." The girl explained, "Miss Lizzie is still asleep, and truth to be told, I was expecting you to wake up tomorrow." 

"…I slept an entire day?" 

"And then some." At this point, the maid entered with a tray with some fresh fruit on it. "Ah well - here's an entrée. I'll be downstairs, Mr. Zelgadiss - search for me if you need anything, and Isa; please bring him the clothes I left at the study." 

The two women left the room, thankfully leaving him and his nakedness alone. But, he had something else to think about at the moment: fruit. Fresh fruit, and clean water. 

Life was just so much better out of the cage.   
  
  


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The clothing he had been given was definitely a little bit loose for him, gut Zelgadiss didn't feel like complaining. For the first time since he had been cursed, he felt tranquil, at ease, and while the hic curse and it's existence still weighed him down, at the moment he wasn't even thinking of it. 

The girl had gotten him a pair of dark brown pants with suspenders and a white shirt that he had to tuck in. Even with a belt, he was almost floating inside the clothes - hadn't she said this used to be her father's? How could the clothes be so big, given the girl's small frame then? 

It didn't matter, he thought as he left the room. He was fully clothed and inside a civilized house, the bastard was dead and he now had time to rest for a while and gather information before he continued with his search. 

As he came downstairs, he couldn't help but to wonder if the girl's house was always that occupied - in front of him and at his sides, two doors were open; one revealing a very busy kitchen with three women running from the stove to the cabinet and so forth; and the behind the second door, a woman (Whom he recognized as the maid from before) and a man were reading the table for lunch. 

"Hey, Zel!" Unaccustomed now to hearing his name, and much less to being called 'Zel', he didn't realize he was being called and instead walked over to the main door. 

"Zel? Hey, I'm calling you here! Hey, Amelia said you shouldn't leave the house yet…" At the mention of a name he did recognize and a sentence involving 'shouldn't', he turned around. 

"Finally got your attention, eh?" Behind him, at a room he hadn't noticed before, the group that had gotten him out of the cage was sitting at a small living room, a redheaded girl waving at him to come over. 

"Awake now? Siddown." She pointed to a single-couch next to the one she was sitting at with a blonde. "Amelia and Filia went downtown to get some things. Clothes for the Lizzie girl, mainly." 

The chimera nodded as he sat down. "How is she?" 

The girl grimaced, the boy next to her frowned. "Well, she's fine… she's got a slight fever, and her wings _need_ to be removed…" 

"Yes, yes - seems that your master had some sort of spell on her, you see?" A man with purple hair sitting across the room in front of him explained, smiling in a way that really didn't fit the topic. "It prevented the wings from getting infected, in other words, it kept them fresh. But seems now that the spell is… gone." At this, the man's eyes, which he had kept semi-closed due to his grinning, opened to look at him. "I do wonder why… well, without this spell, the wings are quickly rotting and the infection will affect Miss Lizzie if not removed." 

Zelgadiss frowned, shooting the man a icy glare. "That man was not my 'master'. I don't think Lizzie would appreciate being reminded of him, either." 

"You think? And I thought he'd be such an interesting person to get acquainted with. Intelligent, in his own way, a true business man and with some magic aptitude, and quite unique methods." 

"Of all the fair, he was the most monstrous one." He snapped in return, not caring that the purple-haired man seemed to be enjoying his anger. "And you -" 

"Hey, don't mind Xelloss, really." The redheaded interrupted, waving her arms. "He just likes fooling people, and Filia's the only one who seemingly controls him… a little. Amelia also calms him, even if her methods aren't that conventional." 

Crossing his arms, Zelgadiss slumped back into the couch, and a glacial silence ensued 

"Anyway, I don't think I have introduced you to Gourry?" The girl started again, pointing to the man next to her. 

"Hey!" The blonde got up, offering his hand for shake. "Gourry Gabriev. You are Zegaldiss, right?" 

"Zelgadiss, and my skin is not the best for shaking hands." 

"Aw c'mon, I've been working with the sword and the axe since little, I could shake hands with a rock and it'd be the same!" With no further advise, the man took his hand and shook it with a strong grip. "See? I think I just did that, and I'm fine!" 

"…alright. So he's Gourry." With her thumb, the redheaded pointed at the other man. "You already met Xelloss, and once Amelia and Filia come over, I'll introduce them… you already know me." 

He blinked. "No. I know Amelia, not you." 

"What? Hey, I greeted you and all back at the Fair!" The girl exclaimed. "C'mon, how can you forget such a beauty like me? Most people are so impressed, they never forget my name!" 

"Really?" Gourry commented at the side. "I thought they couldn't forget you because of how you threaten to blow their house up if they don't do what you say…" 

The girl got a little red. "Shut up, Gourry… now, do you remember me or not?" 

Zelgadiss sighed. "I remember a girl semi-explaining what would happen and making some smart-ass comments. I guess that was you." 

"Smart… hey, why aren't you saying anything about _his_ vocabulary? And yeah, that was me." 

"…fine." 

"Lina, alright? You'd better remember that. You don't want the wrath of the most powerful sorceress in the word to fall upon you!" 

"Now _that_ is unforgettable…" 

"Now now, Mr. Gourry - remember what we said about mocking Miss Lina's lack of lady-likeness? Besides, I think I hear Filia and Amelia at the door. Perhaps it would be time for us to go to the dinning room." The purple-haired man commented as he got up and left the room. 

"Food!" Lina followed, skipping happily. The chimera got up, and the blonde man walked with him towards the door. 

"Hey, if you were wonderin'…" The man - Gourry? - started, "That other man, Mark, he's in the garden. He's the only one who didn't sleep so much, and he really gets along with the animals, so he's outside taking care of Cerberus and Fenrir." 

Zelgadiss arched a rocky eyebrow in surprise. "Amelia allowed that giant of a dog and a wolf to stay in her garden?" 

"Amelia? You haven't met Phil, have you? Well, they both decided that the animals had suffered just as much and therefore it wasn't just to kick them out at least until they had recovered. And they are pretty tame, too!" 

"With the treatment we - they received, it's no wonder they are." The chimera muttered. 

"And hey, Zegaldis - ?" 

"Ze_l_gadiss." 

"Ah - Zel, that's fine, right? Anyway, were you the one to… y'know…" 

"What?" 

"Well, Lina and I went to see what was left of the fair, and we kind of stumbled into the master trailer and…" 

Ah. So that's what they were worrying about. "Yes, that was my doing." He said, looking at the group that was now gathering at the dinning room. 

The man nodded. "Alright. Asking 'why' is out of place, so I'll just hurry along before Lina eats my fill." 

The blonde ran ahead to the dinning room just as a faint scent of something he had once known but now he couldn't distinguish filled the room, quickly followed by the noise of chairs moving and people sitting still in the middle of a conversation. 

Surely he was meant to join them at the table… and while he still felt a little weird around those people; first because of his cure and then because of how they had found him, he entered the room and found the black haired girl had reserved a place for him next to her. 

He sat down, the girl saying something about introducing him to her father, while he thought that maybe a week or two of vacation would do good for him.   
  
  


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**Notes:** If you've been reading this - sorry for the long wait! School's up, and now I have time. This'll be finished soon. 

I liked how this chapter shaped up, except perhaps for the beginning. Otherwise… I just like it. 

Thanks to Alea Seikou, Suisei Lady Dragon and Saki for your reviews; and to Ryo Hoshi for proof-reading and pointing out my bad grammar - would that be the same thing? 

At any rate, I hope you'll all enjoy this more peaceful chapter. 

_WDR_   
  



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